69. Star Wars (1977)

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

I seriously do not remember watching any of the original Star Wars movies for the first time. They have always been an ever present part of my life, be it reading books with records (and later books with tapes), playing with my Death Star playset, catching the movies on TV (and later on VHS, repeatedly), or pretending I had a lightsaber every time I picked up a flashlight. As I have written already, this movie changed so much about the art and business of film. Every movie that makes your jaw drop with stunning, special effect laden battles and causes the 8 year old inside of you jump up and down with glee has this movie to thank.

There really are too many amazing things about this first movie to list, but I'll give it a go:

-That first shot.... so, so perfect...
-C3-PO, who would be annoying except for his comic straightman (and all-around savior of Star Wars humanity) R2-D2 constantly putting him in his place with his smart-alec beeps.
-Luke Skywalker in the role of the farmboy who yearns to fly through the stars (otherwise known as every little boy and girl who ever looked up at the stars)
-Han Solo - the coolest character in the history of movies, period.
-Leia - Damsel in distress who has no problem taking care of herself, thankyouverymuch.
-The Millenium Falcon - fastest hunk-a-junk in the universe with the most unlikely of co-pilots
-Garbage Chute scene - I still worry that R2-D2 won't be fast enough
-Space combat - they pulled this off in 19 freakin' 77... I still can't believe it...
-Rag-tag group of rebels take on (and defeat) the big evil empire. This sentence makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, seriously...